Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Throw Ty Cobb out of the Hall of Fame if Barry Bonds can't get in

I’m on a
mission to get Ty Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961) kicked out of the
Hall of Fame.

I know it’s ridiculous
to suggest that the hall dismiss arguably the greatest baseball player of all
time. He was inducted as a member of the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame in
1936, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes.

Cobb set 90
Major League Baseball records, including the highest career batting average
(.367) and the most career batting titles with 12.He held records for half a century after his
retirement, including most career hits (4,191), most career runs (2,246), most
games played (3,035) and most stolen bases (892). When discussing the legends
of baseball, Cobb and Babe Ruth are the first to come to mind.

I have a good
argument to kick both of them out of the Hall of Fame. I’m willing to let it
slide if the Hall of Fame votes Barry Bonds in as a member.

You can’t do
that! I can hear the echoes bouncing off the walls at Cooperstown.Bonds is a cheater.He defrauded the integrity of the game by
juicing up with steroids. That’s what sportswriters are using to justify
keeping one of the best ever to play out of the Hall of Fame.

Bonds has
become the poster boy of a corrupt era.He’s not the only player to juice up.The list is so long that it’s tough finding a person who passes the smell
test.To his credit, Bonds has credible
statistics prior to his head enlarging and body pumping up to resemble a NFL
linebacker.

MLB may need
a poster boy to distance itself from the juice era.I get that, but I refuse to allow it to
happen without calling the league on its hypocrisy in claiming innocence of all
things pre steroids.

The truth is
both Cobb and Ruth were racist.Cobb’s
racism is documented in Al Stump’s book Cobb:
The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball. In 1994,
the book was used as the basis for Cobb, a
film starring Tommy Lee Jones as Cobb. Cobb’s racism is trumped only by his
fits of rage and violent playing style.

Ruth was no
better than Cobb.Ruth was known for his
racism, womanizing and mean ways with fans.Both Ruth and Cobb made it into the Hall of Fame because of their play
on the field.Fans are now asked to
measure the worth of players based on their reputations off the field.We’re also challenged to consider the
cultural context in which the bigots from the past played.

Cobb
apologists argue that the “Georgia Peach” was no different than his peers.Cobb was born and reared within a racist
Southern environment, and shouldn’t be ridiculed for being like everyone
else.Implied in condoning Cobb’s ways,
based on the context of a racist society, is the negation of how he and others
benefitted from the policy that prohibited the inclusion of black players.

In other
words, Cobb, Ruth and others were great, in part, because of the cultural norms
of the day.They thrived, in part,
because of racism.Despite the
advantages of living within a culture that affirmed and celebrated his game - despite
the advantage of bigotry - we allow bigots in the Hall of Fame.We’re told it’s not Cobb’s fault.It was normative for the day.

The rules are
altered with Bonds.The aftermath of the
steroid era exposed how vast it was used.Not only was it used, the league allowed it to happen.I was not illegal.The Commissioner, owners, managers, coaches
and players were all complicit in the management of steroids, cocaine,
amphetamines, methamphetamine and other drugs.Players assumed they needed the juice to compete.

It was part
of the culture of baseball.

Like Cobb,
Bonds lived within a historical context that normalized what we consider
horrific.The difference is Cobb, and
the other racist, are inducted into the Hall of Fame, while Bonds is denied entry
for doing what was normal for his era.

Fans of the
game will argue a difference between racism and steroids.They argue that the integrity of the game is
compromised by drugs.Given baseball is
a game of numbers, how can we stand by numbers smeared by performance enhancing
drugs?Can we credit those who are
awarded for playing with an advantage?

This is when
my blood begins to boil.Aren’t the
numbers of Cobb, Ruth, Musial and Williams blemished by who wasn’t allowed to
play the game?Should we authenticate
the play of those who lived within a culture that honored their position of
white privilege, allow them into the Hall of Fame despite that advantage, while
denying entry to others who played within a culture that affirmed similar advantage?

Like I said,
I’m calling for the Hall of Fame to throw Cobb out of the Hall of Fame.If he’s allowed to stay as a racist, then
nothing that follows will bear meaning. The game was tarnished by race and the
league allowed it to happen.

2 comments:

You are so full of shit. To tell me that Bonds had credible statistics prior to his head enlarging and body pumping up from steroids is stupid. I have heard that time and time again from people defending Bonds. How do you know when he started using steroids? You don't, so don't say he had credible statistics prior to his head enlarging and body pumping up if you don't know. Also if you look at everyone in HOF I bet you could find something bad about them to have them all thrown out of the HOF. I'll bet 60% or better were racist in the HOF from the 70's and back to the beginning of baseball, so kick them all out.

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina